Daylight
by I-write-fanfics-not-tragadies
Summary: River shares a story with Charlotte and the children as the day slowly comes to an end. *Part 1 & 2 are a continuation off each other, they have been split up to shorten the length*
1. Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or concepts from Doctor Who.

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><p>Daylight Part 1<p>

River sat on the porch swing, watching as the daylight slowly disappeared, leaving her to see the setting in a blue tinge. She could hear faint sounds of giggling drifting from the house; the children's bedroom light reflecting small shadows onto the lawn. Turning her head to a knock on the door frame, she smiled.

"Hello sweetie. Everything alright?" Patting the seat next to her.

Charlotte nodded, sitting down with her body turned to face her best friend. "River...do you mind if I ask you something?"

River turned to copy Charlottes seated position. "Of course dear."

The child hesitated before beginning, "...What"

"Riverrrrr!" Called through the house, interrupting Charlotte's question.

Giving the girl a sweet smile, River couldn't help but sigh. "Hold that thought. Joshua, Ella, I'm on the porch!" Standing up and moving to the door she watched the staircase. "Slow down young man! Don't you dare run down those stairs!" The woman groaned as the sweet little boy followed her directions...somewhat, taking his time, sliding down each step on his bum.

Once at the bottom, he remained seated, gazing up at River with a cheeky smile."What? You said don't run?"

Bopping Joshua on the nose River couldn't help but grin."That I did. I'll choose my words more wisely next time. Ella? Sweetie are you going to come sit outside?"

"She already is." Charlotte called, causing Rivers eyebrows to rise.

Leaning towards the little boy she whispered "I didn't see her go by…Did you?"

Shaking his head and popping the "P", Joshua smiled "Nope." Standing up, he raced across the parlor and grabbed a blue book off her chair before rushing out the door.

"Joshua Ryan! Will you please stop running?" Following him out the door, she only stopped to turn on the porch light.

"River?" Charlotte asked.

"Still have that question?"

"This is new."

"What is?" Turning around she saw her blue journal opened to its final entry. Hesitating, she slowly responded "that's because...well that's because it is dear."

"Then tell us!" "Ya tell us!" "Pleassssseee!" The children begged in unison.

Exaggerating a sigh she gave in "Well alright."

Parting the way for River to sit down, Ella and Joshua scrambled to fight for a seat on her lap, while Charlotte made herself comfortable, pulling her knees up to her chin.

"Awww that's not fair! You got to sit on Riveys lap yesterday!" Whined Joshua.

Rolling her eyes she patted the seat on her opposite side. "Joshua I hope you don't whine like this at school." Her comment pulled a giggle from Ella and a puppy dog pout from the little boy as he plopped himself down."Alright...so where do I begin? Well I received a special message from my friend Madame Vastra. This special message allowed me to talk to my friends in a secret dream, especially the Doctors companion, Clara." Turning the page, a sketch of the TARDIS was revealed, drawing the children's interest.

"The Doctor" whispered Charlotte with a small smile.

River responded with a squeeze of the hand and a hidden smile as she continued..."Well this meeting was important because Madame Vastra was given a message concerning the Doctor and a special secret that only I happen know the answer to. But during our chat, my friends, well except for Clara, were kidnapped by these scary men called the Whisper Men."

"How scary is scary?" Piped Joshua.

"SHHHH! I want to hear the story!" Snapped Ella.

"It's alright sweetie. You see Joshua, these men wanted to hurt the Doctor. They saw him as a threat. So they were very scary...they even scared me." A gasp came from the twins at the thought of their "Rivey" being scared.

"But! But you're not scared of anything" Sputtered Bella, with Joshua quick to agree.

"Everyone's scared of something, Rivers just brave when it comes to scary things."

Charlottes answer blew River away. For such a young girl she was incredibly intelligent.

"Is that true Rivey?"

Flattening the top of Ella's hair, River placed a kiss on her crown. "Yes sweetie. I don't think I could have said it better myself." Glancing over at Charlotte she sent her a wink. "Anyway, as I was saying, The Great Intelligence captured my friends, only leaving Clara behind because she had to relay a message back to the Doctor. When Clara awoke from the dream, our connection was still in place allowing me to follow her around while remaining invisible to everyone else."

"Cool" whispered Joshua as he leaned in closer to stare at the tattered and slowly discoloring pages.

"I followed the Doctor and Clara all the way to a planet called Trenzalor, and that is where The Great Intelligence demanded that The Doctor reveal his biggest secret..."

Taking a moment to think out how she wanted to continue telling the story. She could sense that the children were forcing themselves to stay awake. River couldn't help but ask "Would you rather I continue the story tomorrow night? It's getting late..."

Joshua and Ella nodded in agreement, while Charlotte interjected. "Nooo! It's just getting good!" Making it quite clear that the oldest was wishing to hear the end of her mysterious story.

Glancing at her watch River began to negotiate, "If I let you stay up, you mustn't complain if you are tired tomorrow… agreed?"

"Yes mama."

"Alright, well let me just lay the twins down, and I will be right back dear." Carefully standing from the porch swing, River gently shook Ella and Joshua awake. "My darlings, stand up, carefully now, I don't want you falling off the swing."

Joshua was the first to stand, wrapping his little arms around her neck and his head on her shoulder. Ella stood, doing the exact same on River's opposite side. The young children slowly drifting back to sleep as River re-entered the house and ascended the stairs, careful to remain balanced while climbing each step.

Upon entering their bedroom, she nuzzled each child awake. Carefully placing them down, and leading them to their beds. "Goodnight Ella. Sweet dreams my love." Tucking the little girl in, she placed a kiss on her temple. Turning to the next bed she smiled, Joshua hadn't even bothered to get himself under the covers. There was no use trying to pull back the comforter as Joshua turned into a sack of potatoes whenever he would fall asleep. Reaching under his bed, River pulled out a spare bed sheet, draping it over the child; she brushed his hair away from his forehead. "Goodnight Joshua. Sweet dreams my darling."

The curly haired woman quietly exited the room and returned back to the porch to find Charlotte flipping through pages of her book.

"River."

"Yes dear?"

"Do you love him?"

"Very much, yes I do."

"Do you miss him?"

"More than anything in the world."

Charlotte took her time before asking her next question, hesitating only for a moment. "Do you love us?"

Thrown aback, River sat herself next to the girl, her maternal instinct kicking in as she responded, "What? Of course I do sweetie. You three are mine, biological or not."

"So… then you're not going to leave us."

"Even if I could, I wouldn't… unless I could take you lot with me. We are a family, and I would put an end to anyone who tries to take that away from us." River smiled at the girl. "Now how about we finish up this story because it's getting late."

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><p>River was nearing the end of her final journey with the Doctor as she felt herself slowly dozing off. Charlotte had gone to bed a while back, but River couldn't pry her eyes away from the familiar story.<p>

"_Go to the Tardis. The fast return protocols should be on. She'll take you home, then shut herself down." _

"_There has to be another way. Use the Tardis, use something. Save her, yes, but for God's sake be sensible." _

_I went to slap the Doctor, hoping to bring some sense to him. But instead, that amazing man stopped my hand from connecting with his cheek. "How are you even doing that? I'm not really here." I gasped._

"_You are always here to me. And I always listen, and I can always see you." _

"_Then why didn't you speak to me?" _

"_Because I thought it would hurt too much." _

"_I believe I could have coped."_

"_No, I thought it would hurt me. And I was right." _

_With that said, the Doctor and I shared a beautifully passionate kiss that could last a life time._

"_Since nobody else in this room can see you, God knows how that looked. There is a time to live and a time to sleep. You are an echo, River. Like Clara. Like all of us, in the end. My fault, I know, but you should've faded by now." _

"_It's hard to leave when you haven't said goodbye."_

"_Then tell me, because I don't know. How do I say it?" _

"_There's only one way I'd accept. If you ever loved me, say it like you're going to come back."_

"_Well, then. See you around, Professor River Song."_

"_Till the next time, Doctor."_

With that Rivers eyes became too heavy to handle as she drifted off to sleep. Her diary slipped off her lap and onto the porch, still open, allowing for its words to flow out.

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><p>A quick note, part 2 is a continuation of this chapter. I've split it in half to make it easier to read.<p> 


	2. Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or concepts from Doctor Who.

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><p>Daylight Part 2<p>

A heavy autumn wind swept through the trees in the yard. A faint crunching could be heard as boots stepped through early fallen leaves. The steppes slowly and quietly came closer, forcing River to pry her eyes open and identify a lanky figure in a coat, casually making its way to her. Reaching for her nonexistent gun, she felt her breath catch in her throat as she sat up. Scrambling off the swing, she ran through the entry way, slamming the door behind her.

Leaning her back towards the door, she sighed. "I must be imagining this. The data core is completely safe." Turning around, she pulled back a curtain, and peaked out the window. Her stomach settled as she confirmed her thought. Unlocking the door, she chuckled to herself as she bent down to retrieve her diary, freezing as she sensed a presence behind her.

"If you plan on sneaking up behind me, I suggest you start breathing through your nose first." Turning around she felt her heart skip a beat as she took in a sight that she never thought she would see again.

"Hi honey, I'm home."

Glancing at her watch, River raised a scolding eye brow. "And what sort of time do you call this?"

The Doctor cleared his throat, "Sorry-"

"Oh shut it and get over here." With that invitation, the Doctor climbed the steps and took River's face in his hands. Their lips connecting with a glowing passion; But as soon as it started, it ended. The couple pulled apart, and River laid her head on the Doctor's chest, while he wrapped his long arms around his wife.

"I'm not a mouth breather River Song, I can promise you that." The Doctor said with a smirk, as he placed a kiss on her temple.

"Riveeyy" whined a small voice from the doorway, forcing the couple to turn around.

Removing herself from the Doctors embrace, River dropped to her knees in front of the little girl. "Ella, sweetie, what are you doing out of bed? Is everything alright?"

The child continued to rub her eyes before unexpectedly throwing herself into River's arms, sleepily mumbling, "I heard a thump."

Groaning as she carefully stood up, the woman adjusted the child in her arms, slightly smiling as she gave an apologetic look to the Doctor. "It should only be a minute."

Stepping forward, the Doctor offered his open arms. "I can take her."

Cocking an eyebrow, River hesitantly agreed. "Alright…Up the stairs, first room on your right." Gently transferring Ella into the Doctors lanky arms, River stared him down as he made his way into the house. "Careful, if you drop her, I'll never forgive you."

The Doctor chuckled. "River Song, you act as if I've never done this before."

As he climbed the stairs the young child mumbled into the tweed jacket "Is River's Doctor real?" Her question stirred a quite smile across the man's face.

At the top of the creaky wooden stairs, the Doctor rounded the corner and entered the children's room.

Laying Ella down under her covers, The Doctor smiled, quietly whispering "I'm always real."Grinning as the child mumbled "I knew it" while slowly drifting back to sleep; he exited the room, returning back to his wife and the front porch swing.

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><p>River sat, staring at her diary that still lay open on the floor with the words,<em> "Spoilers. Goodbye, sweetie."<em> carefully scrawled across the middle of the page.

"Everything alright?"

Raising her head, she looked at the impossible man. "You've regenerated, haven't you?"

The Doctor sighed as he approached, "Yup…or at least I think so. The last thing I remember was seeing Amy and-" The Doctor immediately grabbed for his neck, gasping as he realized that his collar no longer sported a bow tie. "Damn."

"I thought there was something different about you…" Reaching into her pocket, River carefully removed a dark blue cloth and handed it to the Doctor. "Here. Try this on for size."

The Doctor grinned as he reunited with a familiar friend. Wrapping the material around his collar, and tying it off in a slanted bow, the Doctor beamed. "How do I look? Hot? Sexy?"

Standing on her toes, River grinned as she straightened his bow tie. "Irresistible."

Taking her answer as an invite, the Doctor snaked his hands to either side of her waist, pulling her close as their lips pressed together. Only slightly pulling away as he whispered, "I've missed you Song."

"And I the same my love. But we now have all the time in the database to make up for what was lost."

Glancing to the open diary, the Doctor smirked. "Well then, it looks like we have a lot of work to do…but…um..." The Doctor tilted his head to the ceiling "I don't recall you being pregnant in the library, you look the same now as you did then...NOT that you look pregnant! You look gorgeous and defiantly not pregnant… unless you were… I MEAN!"

Tossing her frizzy blond curls back, River laughed. "No Doctor, I wasn't pregnant."

"Then who-" Placing a finger on the Doctors lips River chuckled. "I'm sorry, is there something you find humorous Professor Song?" The raggedy man mumbled behind her finger.

"It's just that I've forgotten how sexy your little rants are dear."

Giving a modest half smirk, the Doctor steered around Rivers finger and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Now what was that for?" River smiled.

"I just wanted to show that I can be a lot more than just sexy. Although I'm pretty sure we both already know that it's true..."

"You're just dying to know the answer about the children, aren't you?"

The Doctor let out a sigh of relief, "Yes! I thought I was going to have to spell it out for you." His eye's followed River as she moved towards the house. "Oye! Where do you think you're going?"

Grabbing a hold of his hand, River pulled him into the house. "Come on you." Locking the door behind them, she motioned to the kitchen. "How about I make us some tea?" The Doctor nodded, leaning against the counter, as he watched River fill the kettle with water and place it on the stove. "I never thought that I could be a mother. Between the lives that we lived and our uneven timeliness, it just wasn't possible. But when I entered the database, it was as if I was given a second chance, and I lepta at the opportunity." Reaching across the windowsill, she picked up a picture frame and handed it to her husband. "On the left is Joshua, then its Charlotte, and Ella. Joshua and Ella are both five and Charlotte is eight." Returning back to the stove, she removed the kettle and poured the steaming water into two cups. Moving away from the stove and back to the Doctor, she handed him his cup and hopped up onto the counter top. "You already know Charlotte's story, but the twins have a different one. When Donna was saved, she had a life created for her. She met someone, got married, and had these two lovelies. But when everyone was released, Josh and Ella stayed behind because they were created from the database. When I was uploaded into the mainframe, I was introduced to Charlotte who then introduced me to Joshua and Ella. They immediately stole my heart and… well the rest is history." River looked to the Doctor, his eyes staring into hers with a small smirk. "What? Have I got something on my face?"

"No not at all. It's just I never thought I would see you again, and now I am and you are happy and safe. You're on top of the world with everything that I wished I could have given you." Placing his cup on the counter, the Doctor moved so he was standing in front of River and took her hands in his. "River, I am overjoyed because you finally have the life that you deserve to have." Kissing her hand, he smiled as she cupped his cheek.

"Sweetie, it's only complete now that you're here." Placing both arms around his neck, she grinned as their lips met. Lasting only for a few seconds, they pulled apart, pressing their foreheads together, quietly chuckling.

Lifting River off the counter, the Doctor kept his arms wrapped around her, spinning in a few circles before moving towards the stairs.

River squinted her eyes at the sunlight that was driving its way through the blinds. Grinning as she turned herself into the arms that had warmly wrapped themselves around her, she was greeted by the Doctor's smile.

"Hello love."The Doctor whispered, brushing a curl away from her face.

"Hello sweetie."

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><p>Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it! I apologize for the break between part 1 and 2 but I put it in to make it easier on you guys to read. Together the entire thing is a little over 3,000 words, so I did it this way to keep from losing readers midway through.<p> 


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